22 March 2010

Job's Daughters (even prettier than the originals!)

Remember how, in God's 107th killing, a big wind blew down the house that Job's children were partying in? Well, it was all a part of God's plan -- or in this case, his bet with Satan.

In case you were wondering, God won the bet. Job never cursed God, even after he killed his children, slaves and animals, and then tormented Job with all kinds of nasty diseases.

And in the end, everything worked out well for Job. God gave him twice as much stuff as he had before, and even gave him seven new sons and three new daughters to replace the ones that he killed in his bet with Satan.

The new daughters even had names. And, best of all, the they were even prettier than the originals! They were the fairest women in all the land (fairer even than Snow White and the witch).

And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job. Job 42:14-15

You've probably heard of the masonic organization, "Job's Daughters," where young girls dress up in sheets and old men decide who is prettiest.

Yeah, well, now you know where the name comes from: the three pretty replacement daughters for the original (not as pretty) daughters of Job.

hey sorry to inform you but you have your facts about Job's Daughters 100% wrong. One they are not sheets, and two old men don't decide who is the prettiest. job's daughters is an orinization that asists girls into become young women who well respect other people and not sit here and take things out of context and turn it around and make sound like a bad thing just to make themselves feelbeter about there own pittiful lives.(which is what you are doing.)now why dont you grow up and get a life.

Yeah, you got the organization flat out wrong. Not sure where your got your information but the girls dress in white robes so that all are equal - no beauty contest to be had. All leadership roles are held by women, however there are a few council positions available to dads and masons.

This is a fabulous organization for teen girls to learn leadership, responsibility and community involvement.

So the Job's Daughters organization has nothing to do with Job's daughters in the Bible? You know the replacement daughters that God made for Job to replace the ones that he and Satan killed in the bet? The ones that were even prettier than the originals? Job's daughters has nothing to do with them. Is that what you're saying?

ok Job's Daughters is based on the story of job yes. but we are not trying to put ourselves on a pedestal and say we are any better or prettier than anyone. we are also not based of the second daughters. we are based off the originals. Job's Daughters is and organization for young women to learn leadership and social skills.

"The Book of Job had been chosen by Mrs. Mick as the foundation of the Order. Her own mother had often stated that her girls should strive to be like the Daughters of Job: “the Fairest in the Land”. – Job 42:15."

The daughters that were "the Fairest in the Land" were the replacement daughters, not the originals. God and Satan killed the originals and then God replaced them with prettier ones.

okay apparently u don't know anything about Job's Daughters. Yes in the bible it says that those were the names of the seconded daughters, but i am a job's daughter so i think i know what i am talking about. i am actually studying the story of job right now. i have it memorized in fact. so u can go ahead and think what u want but don't go around talking about crap u don't know anything aboutBrooke Butters Bethel #8 IdGrand Rep to Cali. #1

Ok going off of your quote it only talks about the fairest in the land. and in the book of job it doesn't state that the first daughters were the fairest in the land. in fact it doesn't talk about them at all really. Therefore they could also be the fairest in the land not just the second daughters who are talked about more. He could have also given them inheritance among their brothers. It doesn't state that though.

Sorry, sarcastic wit. You may be a Job's daughter, but, if so, you weren't imitating Job's original daughters -- at least you weren't supposed to be imitating them. You were supposed to be imitating the new, prettier daughters that God made from scratch for Job as a reward for not complaining when he and his satanic gambling buddy killed Job's uglier, original daughters.

I understand you are not a believer in the Bible, but that is really no way to interpret the organization of Job's Daughters. I am an agnostic and participated in Job's Daughters for over seven years. I have learned many valuable skills from it including public speaking and patience and I can assure you, wholeheartedly, that it is not a cult, beauty pageant or popularity contest. It is a humble organization with the aim of promoting patience, faith, leadership, and friendship throughout the community. Ethel T. Wead Mick did base the organization on Job 42:15 "...and in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave the inheritance among their brethren" (so yes, technically it is based on the second set of daughters but that is not the point). However, "fair" does not only imply physical beauty. Mick only meant to use this as a foundation to shape the participants of the organization to be "fair" all around, as in strong, well-rounded, and humble. Your statement that "old men decide who is prettiest" is completely untrue, and shows what little knowledge you have of the organization. There is nothing sick about the organization at all except the way you have assumed it operates. I urge you to speak with Anne Stegen and to not make such crass assumptions about youth groups you know nothing about in the future.Mikenzie DenholtzPast Honored Queen of Bethel #257, Riverside CA

I understand you are not a believer in the Bible, but that is really no way to interpret the organization of Job's Daughters. I am an agnostic and participated in Job's Daughters for over seven years. I have learned many valuable skills from it including public speaking and patience and I can assure you, wholeheartedly, that it is not a cult, beauty pageant or popularity contest. It is a humble organization with the aim of promoting patience, faith, leadership, and friendship throughout the community. Ethel T. Wead Mick did base the organization on Job 42:15 "...and in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave the inheritance among their brethren" (so yes, technically it is based on the second set of daughters but that is not the point). However, "fair" does not only imply physical beauty. Mick only meant to use this as a foundation to shape the participants of the organization to be "fair" all around, as in strong, well-rounded, and humble. Your statement that "old men decide who is prettiest" is entirely untrue and there is nothing even close to paralleling this in Job's Daughters. There is nothing sick about the organization at all except the way you believe it operates. I urge you to speak with Anne Stegen (she is a Job's Daughter with high honors) and to not make such rude and crass assumptions about innocent youth groups you know nothing about in the future.Mikenzie DenholtzPast Honored Queen of Bethel #257, Riverside

I'm a bit late to this party, but, this is addressed to Sarcastic Wit:

I am a former Jobie. I joined in 1974 at the age of eligibility and was in the organization for about four years. That would make me almost 50 years old now.

The names of the daughters of Job were listed in the IOJD handbook when I was in the organization. They are the names of the three latter daughters of Job: Keren Happauch, Kezia, and Jemima

As to the general statements about dress and beauty contests, the girls wore heavy white linen robes with satin cording (a very long rope that is attached to the robe and ties around it). The lower ranking officers (girls) wore purple cording , while the higher ranking officers wore white cords. These were to signify purity. The highest three levels of office in the organization are Junior Princess, Senior Princess and Honored Queen. There is no beauty contest, but, the naming of the titles can leave little to the imagination, which is unfortunate. At the same time, when I was in the organization, we had a social event that was geared towards "Secret Dads" - where a Mason and a young Jobie would be matched up for gifts on Valentines Day. This sounds very suggestive, but, it was actually quite innocent. I baked a cake for my Secret Dad, and I think he gave me some sort of necklace which I now can't even remember what it looked like.

ya seriously, this all gets out of hand, because people need jobs, and lives. i can make comments about several thing i question.... but i don't because i don't really know what i'm talking about. like our first comments on this page.i am a past honered queen. the women in my family are as well. the men masons.never was there anything perverse no one picked out who was pretty in jobs. thats sociaty, so i guess thats your cult. our robes are for puroty our tassles and colors all stand for innosent thing. we learn everything by memorization. we r poised, and assistant to the community. we are cheerleaders, and soccer players. we are mothers, sisters, and DAUGHTERS!!!!! thank you.

I love this content. My daughter was in Job's for many years. Before she joined, I was sceptical, investigated and concerned of cultish activities. What I could find out about it was..nothing. So I let her join and thought I would watch, closely. What I found out was that this was a wonderful organization. Everything in a meeting has a purpose. Adults are refered to as Mom ___ or Dad___. This gives the attitude of familiarity along side of respect for that person. The ritualism of the meetings remind me of an FFA meeting for those who know of FFA. NO big deal. The phrasing of bringing girls into womanhood, or however worded must be looked at for the time it was written. Really. If it were today, the wording might look a little different. Years ago more emphasis was on how we presented ourselves, as it still should be. Think of a visit to the mall on a Saturday afternoon and tell me different! The Christian part of things is more of an overtone. We understood it as any member should have a faith of their own choosing. Once each term (6months) we would have a go to church Sunday and the Honored Queen would choose. This gave opportunity to experience many traditions, churches. Also, the main point of the story of Job is not the daughters but the adversity that Job had to endure. Life has many adversities and the story of Job is reminded as part of the meeting. To be strong,true and faithful and that through that they would be known as Daughters of Job. We did have ethnic diversity and this cultural experience was brought into the meetings.Much of the meeting was memorized. Why not? There should be something to strive for other that showing up. If you didn't memorize you weren't kicked out! Someone mentioned having a Mason as a "secret dad" or something like that, where they exchanged gifts at Valentines. There is always encouragement in the youth being somewhat involved with the Mason's as the Mason's give them the connection for membership, help support them by giving them space to meet and offering grants for projects. Jobies show thanks by secret pals, making a dinner or some other small project. This is not different than any other supportive organization. Teaching to be appreciative is a good thing. The girls love the robes. yes, they are akin to uniforms, but prettier. To be a daughter of Job, symboically, really represents being part of positive end to a story of trials and tribulations. By hanging in there, life can be good again, even better. Not a bad message. Mikenzied, who posted August 8, 2011..You wrote well.You are a Rock Star.

Job's Daughters is based on the second set of daughters, Steve. Keren Happauch (a cornucopia for "plenty" is her symbol) the Honored Queens station. Kezia (an urn of incense is her symbol, it looks like a genies lamp) the Senior Princess' station. Jemima (symbolizes a dove) the Junior Princess' station. These stations are the last 3 of the 5 that are referred to as Line Offices and the girls holding these positions are called the Line Officers. The other two Line positions are Guide and Marshal. The Line Officers are decided based on elections, however, electioneering is prohibited. The girls of the bethel vote for whatever 'daughter' they feel is worthy/ready to be elected into the Line. They start at Marshal and are normally elected up to HQ. Sometimes girls can be essentially kicked out of the line for behavior, delinquency, or bad reputation caused by catty teenage girls. That's very rare. Some girls may never be elected up the line, which could be viewed as lack of popularity/favoritism, etc. Which, sadly, is common. Girls are allowed to switch Bethels if they feel like their Bethel doesn't want them. I feel like you are focusing on the wrong aspects of the Order. Appearance has nothing to do with being elected into the positions, its an Honor to hold those positions. There is one Mason installed as the Bethel's Associate Guardian and usually they are a dad to one of the girls. The Guardian is usually one of the moms (glorified chaperones if you will). Members of these organizations definitely have high standards for themselves and their peers. They expect themselvesto do great things and have many successes. But where the story of Job comes in is truly to humble the girls. No matter how pious Job was, everything was taken from him in an instant. Instead of cursing God for His will, Job remained more faithful than ever to God and was rewarded in plenty. New children, new stock and crops. Everything Job once had was restored because he maintained his faith in God through his trials and tribulations. There is nothing dark or provocative that has to do with the Order of Job's Daughters. People who are uneducated and closed minded make this Order seem that way. This organization helps young women with many different things. Most of the girls who join are at the awkward stages in life, like puberty, junior high and high school. This organization teaches them to reach for the highest attainments in life, which is interpreted differently by every girl who joins. This organization teaches girls to shoot for the stars, that everything their heart desires is in within reach. For your own personal enjoyment, I am certain you will call me out or question something else about this Order for young women. But if you want answers, check out the book every Job's Daughter uses. The Ritual. You won't be brainwashed, but maybe you'll be more understanding. If you read it and are still curious, approach a Mason and ask to join. You can join it, see that they don't fantasize about the youth Orders, and then quit. But my bet is that you would stay involved because of the greatness and secrecy within the organization. I stumbled upon your blog by googling something not quite related and found the ignorant title to be amusing. Out of curiosity I kept reading and chose to answer your question to Jobie. The organization is based on the book of Job in the Bible, yes. But not wholeheartedly. the organization is based on the teachings of the story: "If you remain faithful to God, even through hard times, you will be immensely rewarded for being patient and faithful." Leadership, virtues, friendship, memory skills, speaking skills, thoughtfulness, acceptance, and trust in God are the major takeaways from this organization. Your assumptions are inappropriate and tactless. I hope you have changed your negative outlook on the Book of Job and IOJD.

Hello. I am actually in jobs daughters. I from Wisconsin and will be caped and crowned as junior princess in January. I am 12 years old and have been in this organization for two years. Dear Sharon, Name Not Necessary, and Sadie: we are living the dream.

I'm glad that the testimonials of the actual "Jobies" themselves dispels some of the cult-like imaginings of the skeptics.

Still, after reading all the comments, it still eludes me why the organization decided to name itself based on a rather morally questionable story from the bible.

People are capable of change, right? So, why continue to identify yourselves with what appeared to be girls who were brought in to replace the children of Job who were mercilessly made to suffer and die to satisfy a divine wager?

One doesn't even need to bring belief into the equation; you could look upon it as a believer of the bible verses (Job actually existed, as well as the god he worshiped) or you could just be looking at it as a fictional tale, but with genuine human values as a reference.

A positive female-powered organization doesn't seem to be doing itself any favors that way. By your descriptions, you don't seem to be the "replacement daughters" that the tale was about.

Regardless of what you believe about the message of the book of Job,(I'm not sure what it is myself) what nobody is mentioning is that the second set of daughters of Job in the book are blameless in the story. They are "created" after the worst part of the bet, and have no part in it whatsoever. For women and girls to model themselves after the second set of daughters seems pretty harmless IMHO.

Olivia Metz: I believe I know you, I think my mom was your Bethel Guardian for a bit. And I know I'm a little late to the party here but Job's Daughters teaches young girls so many amazing skills. Leadership, organization, communication, public speaking, and even diplomatic skills. I am a proud proud MM and PHQ of bethel number 19 of West Allis WI and even though I aged out back in 2007 I still remember the lessons and a lot of the ritualistic speeches. I owe almost my entire life to this great organization. It taught me so much and yes we are based on the "prettier" daughters but you have to remember the term "Fair" didn't always mean specifically beauty. It also meant fair in temperament, manner and overall demeanor. It also states that to be fair is to do good.... see what I mean about not just being pretty? It definitely teaches young girls that you're more than a pretty face and you can do anything you set your mind to. So that's a pretty good example to set, wouldn't you agree??

You, sir, are an asshole. Shame on you for criticizing these beautiful organization for simply being founded on a passage in the bible that you don't agree with. Im sure you disagree with the whole bible, but that's your own problem that doesn't involve me. Job's Daiuhters was created for banding together young women to teach them public speaking, being fair, living upright, and just to basically be an all around good person. Too bad you couldn't join. Seems like you could have used that in your life. Maybe instead of bashing something you know nothing about, you should put your efforts into figuring out why you're such a pretentious dick who thinks everyone cares about his opinions.

As being the current Miss Job's Daughter of Delaware I can inform you that is not true at all. I have learned many life lessons including public speaking skills, social skills, and leadership skills. Is is an honor to represent such a beautiful order knowing I got my high title because of my knowledge and leadership to other young women. Not because an older man thinks I have a pretty face.

I was a 'Jobie'Your statements are absolutely 100 % FALSE No old men judged who was the prettiest We were basically a service organization We raised money for the Ronald McDonald House We adopted an elder lady & gave her gifts all year long. I hope that clears things up